Business category, Page 218
Gains for bank stocks help lead major indexes higher
Stocks shook off a weak start and closed broadly higher Wednesday, nudging the Dow Jones Industrial Average to another all-time high. The S&P 500 rose 1.1% after having been down 0.6% in the early going. Gains in financial, technology and industrial stocks powered the comeback. Utilities fell. U.S. Treasury yields...
USPS selects Oshkosh Defense to build greener mail truck
WASHINGTON — The United States Post Office said Tuesday that it has chosen Oshkosh Defense to build its next-generation mail-delivery vehicle, part of an effort to make the USPS more environmentally friendly by switching a portion of its huge fleet to electric vehicles. Oshkosh Defense, a division of Wisconsin-based Oshkosh...
Board leaders of Texas’ grid operator resign after outagesVideo
AUSTIN, Texas — Top board leaders of Texas’ embattled power grid operator said Tuesday they will resign following outrage over more than 4 million customers losing electricity last week during a deadly winter storm, including families whose frigid homes lacked heat for days in subfreezing temperatures. The resignations are the...
ATI, Steelworkers continue talks as extended contract’s end nears
A one-year contract extension for Allegheny Technologies Inc.’s 1,300 United Steelworkers members expires Sunday, but there has been no talk of a strike or lockout, according to the union local president representing workers at ATI’s Brackenridge facility in Harrison. “We all want to get this wrapped up,” said Todd Barbiaux,...
Technology sector leads stock market lower; bond yields rise
Declines in technology stocks are dragging the broader market lower Tuesday as investors remain increasingly focused on a big tick up in bond yields and what it means for the overall market. Major indexes pared a good part of their losses by the afternoon. The S&P 500 index was down...
Consumer confidence rises for 2nd straight month
SILVER SPRING, Md. — U.S. consumer confidence rose again in February as an accelerating covid-19 vaccine push provides hope for Americans who have lived through a year of unprecedented restrictions. The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose to 91.3, up from 88.9 in January. However, despite...
In year of pandemic, Home Depot became supplier to millions
The housing market was among the very few bright spots for the U.S. economy in the year of the lockdown and Home Depot became its supplier, racking up an unprecedented $132 billion in sales for 2020. Sales grew even stronger in the final quarter of the year, surging 25% to...
Macy’s closes out a horrendous year with hope for 2021
NEW YORK — Macy’s fourth-quarter profit plunged 52% and sales slid nearly 19%. In the context of a year spent under the weight of a pandemic, that was seen as a pretty good ending to 2020 for the besieged department store. Shares rose more than 3% before the opening bell...
John Dorfman: Nebraska residents sweep Derby of Economic Forecasting Talent
Residents of Nebraska earned a clean sweep of the honors in my 19th annual Derby of Economic Forecasting Talent (DEFT). Contestants entered from Pennsylvania, Virginia, Iowa, Kentucky and even Poland. But none of them won. It must be something in the Nebraska water. Oh yes, Warren Buffett, widely considered the...
Microsoft, EU publishers team up to push for news payments
Microsoft is teaming up with European publishers to push for a system to make big tech platforms pay for news, raising the stakes in the brewing battle over whether Google and Facebook should pay for journalism. The U.S. tech giant and four big European Union news industry lobbying groups unveiled...
Goodyear acquires Cooper in all-American stock deal
NEW YORK — Two of the biggest remaining American tire companies are joining forces. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is acquiring Cooper in a deal valued at $2.5 billion that will combine the two century-old Ohio manufacturers. Cooper, founded in 1914, is the 5th largest tire maker in North America...
Biden to boost pandemic lending to smallest businesses
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is targeting federal pandemic assistance to the nation’s smallest businesses and taking steps to further equity in what is known as the Paycheck Protection Program. The administration is establishing a two-week window, starting on Wednesday, in which only businesses with fewer than 20 employees —...
Engine failure spurs Boeing 777 groundings in U.S. and JapanVideo
Japan ordered a halt to all flights of Boeing Co. 777s equipped with the engine that failed Saturday over Denver as U.S. aviation regulators ordered emergency inspections of the model’s fan blades. Japan’s transport ministry on Sunday ordered ANA Holdings Inc. and Japan Airlines Co. to ground Boeing 777 planes...
Suze Orman on women, money and surviving the pandemic
Women are bearing a tremendous financial burden during the pandemic, primarily because of leaving the workforce, by choice or by force. The Associated Press spoke with Suze Orman, personal finance expert and author of the podcast Women & Money, about how women can survive and emerge from this period. Responses...
2 stores close at Westmoreland Mall; prom and formal wear store opens
Westmoreland Mall officials confirmed that Littman Jewelers shuttered this month, and a women’s clothing store is set to close. Littman, a national jewelry chain, was located on the first floor across from the former Sears wing and the wing that now houses Live! Casino Pittsburgh. Christopher & Banks, on the...
Federal Reserve sees modest pickup in hiring this month
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve says there’s evidence that hiring has picked up in recent weeks, though the job market remains badly damaged by the pandemic. In its semi-annual monetary policy report released Friday, the Fed said it has been watching job data compiled by payroll processor ADP. The Fed...
Stocks shed some of their gains as bond yields rise again
Stocks were mostly higher Friday afternoon, recovering some ground after three straight days of losses, but were lower than they were earlier in the day. Investors remain focused on the future of the COVID-stricken economy and the potential for more stimulus to fix it. The S&P 500 index was up...
U.K. top court gives Uber drivers benefits in landmark ruling
LONDON — Uber drivers in Britain should be classed as “workers” and not self-employed, the U.K. Supreme Court ruled Friday, in a decision that threatens the company’s business model and holds broader implications for the so-called gig economy. The ruling paves the way for Uber drivers to get benefits such...
U.S. jobless claims rise to 861,000 as layoffs stay high
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment aid rose last week to 861,000, evidence that layoffs remain painfully high despite a steady drop in the number of confirmed viral infections. Applications from laid-off workers rose 13,000 from the previous week, which was revised sharply higher, the Labor Department...
Longtime editor Genevieve Young left legacy in publishing
NEW YORK — Genevieve Young was a publishing editor with a long and diverse legacy. She entered the business in the early 1950s, when there were few female editors and even fewer Asians. She worked with authors ranging from Herman Wouk to Betty Rollin and played a key role in...
Allegiant Air announces flights between Pittsburgh, Key West
Allegiant Air will debut nonstop flights between Pittsburgh International Airport and Key West, Fla., beginning June 3. “From the historic sights at Dry Tortugas National Park to the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum, Pittsburgh visitors have a lot to explore in Key West,” Drew Wells, Allegiant’s senior vice president of...
Stocks end mostly lower on Wall Street, led by drops in tech
Stocks ended mostly lower on Wall Street Wednesday as losses by technology and industrial sector companies offset gains in other parts of the market. The S&P 500 edged down less than 0.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq gave back 0.6%. Small-company stocks also fell. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose thanks...
Ford to go all electric in Europe by 2030
FRANKFURT, Germany — Ford announced a major push into electric vehicles in Europe, vowing to convert its entire passenger car lineup on the continent to electrics by 2030. Ford will spend $1 billion to revamp its factory in Cologne, Germany and make it a base for production of battery powered...
U.S. retail sales jumps 5.3%, thanks to $600 stimulus checks
NEW YORK — The $600 stimulus checks got Americans shopping again. After three months of declines, retail sales soared a seasonally adjusted 5.3% in January from the month before, the U.S. Commerce Department said Wednesday. It was the biggest increase since June and much larger than the 1% rise Wall...
New York sues Amazon over worker safety during pandemic
New York is suing Amazon, claiming the company failed to provide workers with a safe environment at two warehouses in the state as covid-19 infections surged nationwide. The suit from New York Attorney General Letitia James landed just days after Amazon preemptively sued to block the suit over its coronavirus...
